Beyond thrills of motorcycles

Susan Carpenter says, “Ask motorcyclists why they ride, and you’ll get the same answers from every one of them: It’s the adrenaline rush, the freedom, the in-the-moment thrill” (“On the Streets of L.A., You Are What You Ride,” Aug. 26).

Well, that’s not my answer, but nobody asked me. I started riding a motorcycle in Los Angeles for ease of parking and 60 mpg fuel efficiency in the city (better than a hybrid on a highway). The culture of motorcycles is interesting, but it’s not everything. More people on motorcycles would lighten traffic and decrease overall fuel consumption.

Steven Butensky

Los Angeles

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Susan Carpenter, what do you have against BMW bikes? She must have mentioned every other marque known to man in her article.

I don’t own a bike currently -- I have had a Puch 250, a Honda 160, a Kawasaki KZ-400 and a Kawasaki KZ-900 -- but I keep stopping at Honda of Hollywood to drool over the BMW bikes.

One of these days I’m going to forget the pain I experienced the last time I dropped a bike and buy another one.

Robert S. Helfman

Los Angeles